What's the Best Sneaker of 2016 So Far?

Take your pick.

It's July, which means half of 2016 is officially over. There's been A LOT of sneaker releases over the past 6 months. Some have been memorable, others very forgettable. We compiled 30 of our favorite picks, but which one was the best? Scroll down to take a look and cast your vote in the poll below.

Nike Sock Dart Tech Fleece

Release Date: 02/04/16Retail Price: $150

As if Nike’s Sock Dart wasn’t popular enough, Nike went ahead and added Tech Fleece technology to the shoe featuring a translucent strap. The fabric has been used for apparel before but never before seen on a footwear. This could be the start of a freshly paved lane for the Sock Dart in the second half of 2016.

adidas Ultra Boost Uncaged x Solebox

Release Date: 03/12/16Retail Price: $180

Inspired by the Berlin flag, which is highlighted in the shoe’s mix of grey, white, and red. This sneaker used suede to wrap around the heel instead of the normal plastic heel counter. Riding the momentum of the highly sought after Ultra Boost, the shoe was one of the first to release uncaged before hitting mass production.

Nike Kobe 11 FTB

Release Date: 4/13/16Retail Price: $200

Legendary. The only word that can truly encapsulate what this sneaker means and what it was worn to accomplish. Kobe Bryant wore these special edition “Fade To Black” Kobe 11 shoes as the final part of the Mamba Pack collection in his final game in the NBA versus the Utah Jazz on April 13. He put up 60 POINTS in them, making these not even arguably but by far and away, the most important sneakers worn in sports this year.

Air Jordan XX3 x Trophy Room

Release Date: 05/23/16Retail Price: $275

Marcus Jordan (Michael Jordan’s son) debuted his sneaker store Trophy Store earlier this year. Of course, the occasion could only be celebrated with a limited Jordan Brand exclusive. Coming in two colorways of the XX3—white and gold and black and gold—the shoe featured the words “Heir Jordan” on the tongue, rightfully so.

Nike Zoom All Out Flyknit

Release Date: 06/10/16Retail Price: $200

The multi-faceted Nike Zoom All Out Flyknit impressed both runners and the fashionable sneaker seekers alike. The sneaker featured a Flyknit-woven upper along with an extended collar. The Nike Zoom All Out Flyknit debuted in June as Nike's newest Zoom based running shoe.

adidas x Palace Skateboarding

Release Date: 05/21/16Retail Price: Various

For the second year in a row, we witnessed a special link up between adidas and Palace Skateboards. This time around they dropped 2 colorways of sneakers that progressed their abstract aesthetic into something more profound. The blue and white colorway has been described as “a personal trainer without all that wake up early run round the park shit” while the black/orange colorway is the one “you should try drinking sangria in.” A shoe worth mentioning in this year’s best coupled with a stellar marketing direction.

Reebok Question x Major

Release Date: 05/16/16Retail Price: $180

Part of its 20 year anniversary celebration of Allen Iverson’s first signature sneaker, Reebok linked up with Major DC. The inspiration behind the shoe is what leads the shoe in its direction of a blue and grey colorway. The shoe featured a kente cloth pattern on its upper that embodies the Georgetown Hoyas—​AI's alma mater.

Nike Air Griffey Max 1 "Fresh Water"

Release Date: 04/21/16Retail Price: $150

'90s sneaker enthusiasts were overjoyed when they heard that the Nike Air Griffey Max 1 were coming back. Just in time for the baseball season, the O.G. Commemorating the 20 year anniversary came through as a mix of fresh water in white, black and red with the varsity red outliner around the Swoosh on the back.

Air Jordan 12 Retro "Flu Game"

Release Date: 05/28/15Retail Price: $190

Jordan Brand built on an already huge year for the Jordan 12 by re-releasing the Air Jordan VII “Flu Game” in remastered form. In a year full of AJ 12 releases in colorways familiar and new, this one was a standout among them all.

adidas Yeezy Boost 750 "Glow in the Dark"

Release Date: 06/11/16Retail Price: $350

Kanye West hit off this summer’s Yeezy drop with a grey nubuck upper and a gum sole that glows in the dark. As expected with anything Kanye drops, the release sparked a massive hype and the shoes were sold out in minutes, if not seconds, online.

Air Jordan 8 Retro "Championship Pack"

Release Date: 06/25/16Retail Price: $250

The Air Jordan 8 was due for a championship pack this year, as last year gave us the Air Jordan VII “Championship Pack” with a champagne and cigar theme. Celebrating the Bulls' first three-peat, the pack was dressed in a white and metallic gold colorway that included MJ’s fingerprints on the side of the shoe. There was also a black and gold colorway with confetti print along the midsole as a celebration tribute.

Air Jordan 11 Retro "Cherry"

Release Date: 06/04/16Retail Price: $170

The Air Jordan 11 low has been around abundantly in recent years, but the Jordan Brand hasn't spent ample time on glorifying this particular shoe for a minute now. But that all changed this year as the Air Jordan 11 Retro Low “Cherry” received the retro treatment for the first time ever. Bringing back a colorway from 2001, this variation revolutionizes at the perfect time. This colorway used a white mesh upper accented by the red patent leather and icy outsole. The summer tradition of Air Jordan 11 Low releasing continued this year with this soul snatching retro.

Nike Free Train Instinct "Hustle Hart"

Release Date: 06/11/16Retail Price: $140

Kevin Hart has proven to more than just an entertainer, comedian and actor… he’s also a fitness inspiration. And nothing reflected that more than Nike deciding to give this non-traditional athlete his own signature PE. If you move your foot inward or outward on the uppers of the sneakers you will see some of Hart’s personal sayings that activate as the light shifts, emphasizing encouragements that serve to inspire you to get up and get better. Nike and Hart are motivating people to be the best they can be, making this one of the more important shoes of this year.

Nike Air Force 1 Ultra Flyknit

Release Date: 01/28/16Retail Price: $175

Transforming an already iconic shoe seems like an unfeasible task, yet that's what Nike did with the Ultra Flyknit silhouette. The one knock on the original shoe was that it is too colossal but this new technologically advanced shoe solves that problem as Nike brought forth its most lightweight version to date. Regardless of how you feel about remixing a classic, you have to respect what Nike is doing in reconstructing the past narratives to reflect the time of innovation in the sneaker industry.

Nike LunarEpic Flyknit x Gyakusou

Release Date: 03/10/16Retail Price: $190

Japanese designer Jun Takahashi and Nike were back at it again with yet another collection of futuristic silhouettes. In addition to dropping a range of apparel, NikeLab and Gyakusou presented a version of the LunarEpic Flyknit. The latest running sneaker was anything but conventional and featured a mid-top Flyknit upper designed to perform like a natural extension of a runner's leg and a contoured Lunarlon sole. The silhouette focused on grasping a continuing trend of extending the shoe’s design well above the ankle, with a new manufacturing process.

adidas Superstar Vulc x Alltimers

Release Date: 04/07/16Retail Price: $85

Do you remember the Hogan? Adidas Skate threw it back with this collaboration that honors the racquetball shoe made for champ Marty Hogan. Collaborating with Alltimers gave us something special with this one. It's vulcanized with added cushioning in the foot bed for skate purposes making it much better than your average shelltoe.

adidas EQT Running Support 93 "Oddity Luxe"

Release Date: 05/06/16Retail Price: $150

Adidas Originals came back with its “Oddity” line for Summer 16. This EQT Running Support ’93 “Oddity Luxe” featured a slew of premium materials like panels of ostrich leather, snakeskin, suede, and perforated nubuck.

Under Armour Curry 2 Low "Chef"

Release Date: 06/11/16Retail Price: $120

Lets get one thing straight, these sneakers caused a huge uproar in the sneaker world. No publicity is bad publicity right? The low-cut version featured an external heel counter and a herringbone pattern on the outsole as well as a flour inspired tonal white pair which could have given birth to its name as the “Chef” edition. Whatever the case, the most notable thing to mention about these is how they became an instant victim to internet memes and talk show roasts. There’s just no getting around how boring of a shoe this is but hey on the bright side we all now have worthy gift for our dads on his birthday or Fathers Day, cheers to the silver lining wins for Steph Curry like grabbing a unanimous MVP and the best NBA season record of all time but losing… nvm.

Nike KD 8 Elite

Release Date: 04/14/16Retail Price: $200

Right before the start of the 2016 NBA Playoffs, Nike and KD dropped an out-of-the-box update to the Nike KD 8. Designed by Leo Chang, it featured a sky high calf-length compression sock, full-length visible Nike Zoom Air, and Kevlar infused Flywire with KD’s signature logo on the side of the shoe. There was even a knee-high version that Durant was spotted wearing during warm-ups that was, uh, interesting.

Nike Air More Uptempo

Release Date: 03/23/16Retail Price: $160

The Nike Air More Uptempo is the sleeper breakout sneaker of the year. Originally released in 1996, the sneaker was known for its trademark "AIR" hit and bulky '90s shape. The return of the silhouette is perfect timing as it celebrates its 20th anniversary this year and will even see Scottie Pippen's Team USA version release later this month.

adidas Stan Smith Vulc x BAIT "420"

Release Date: 04/20/16Retail Price: $160

In an era where weed-themed sneakers are expected every April, BAIT and adidas Skate took a different take on the theme. Taking inspiration from medicinal marijuana, the sneaker was a unique nod at any stoner's favorite pastime.

Nike Air Penny 2 "All-Star"

Release Date: 05/23/16Retail Price: $160

Taking it back to Penny Hardaway's glory days of playing on the Orlando Magic, Nike brought back the Nike Air Penny 2 "All-Star" in all of its 1997 glory. The sneaker features a Magic-inspired colorway and is a distinct throwback to the what had the potential to be, the most dominant players of all-time.

Nike KD 9

Release Date: 06/20/16Retail Price: $150

The Nike KD 9 is both a renaissance and a huge step forward for the Kevin Durant signature line of sneakers. From a tech standpoint, the KD 9 represents the largest step forward for the line by featuring Flyknit and full-length Zoom for the first time. With all of that said, Nike placed a very reasonable $150 price tag on the sneaker.

adidas Ultra Boost "Triple White 2.0"

Release Date: 05/12/16Retail Price: $180

The adidas Ultra Boost is Sole Collector's 2015 reigning Sneaker of the Year and its momentum has not slowed down in 2016. Before moving on to the new Uncaged version, adidas rekindled the love affair with the original model by dropping the "Triple White 2.0" Ultra Boost. A slightly tweaked version of the colorway that Kanye West famously wore, the sneaker features a white gradient Primeknit upper atop all-white Boost. Despite selling out immediately and restocking regularly, the sneaker continues to fly of shelves.

Air Jordan 12 Retro "The Master"

Release Date: 02/27/16Retail Price: $190

Retro Air Jordan colorways have been used to tell every story imaginable, but at the end of they day, they either look good or they don’t. The story behind “The Master” 12, and the poster that inspired it, happen to be interesting ones, but as it turns out, a mostly black Air Jordan 12 doesn’t need any back story to do just fine.

adidas NMD_CS1

Release Date: 05/21/16Retail Price: $170

Silhouettes lacking a traditional tongue and laces have become more and more popular in recent times, and adidas City Sock variation of the NMD is a perfect example. Add to that the shoe’s Boost sole, and it made for a model that’s as notable for its comfort as its high-concept design.

Air Jordan XXX

Release Date: 02/12/16Retail Price: $200

The Air Jordan 30 may have come out months behind schedule and lacked any wow factor whatsoever thanks to sharing a tooling with its predecessor. But based on performance alone, the latest edition of the Air Jordan proved to be a worthy addition to the line.

Nike Kyrie 2 "Ky-Rispy Kreme"

Release Date: 05/17/16Retail Price: $165

Take one already popular sneaker, then add an unrelated-yet-awesome marketing partner, and drop it right in the middle of a historic playoff run. The Ky-Rispy Kreme Kyrie 2 may have been one of the most unexpected collaborations of the year, but also one of the most memorable.

adidas AlphaBOUNCE

Release Date: 06/15/16Retail Price: $100

Adidas has been on a roll when it comes to running sneakers as of late, but a sneaker without Boost couldn’t possibly interest the sneakerhead community, right? Wrong. The performance-meets-fashion direction of the AlphaBOUNCE sold out in less than 24 hours. Also, the price tag came in at $100.

Nike LeBron Soldier 10 iD "Championship"

Release Date: 06/21/16Retail Price: $181

Regardless of its aesthetics and technology, the LeBron Soldier 10 has a story that will be told in Cleveland for generations. Regardless of what sneakers come out during the second half of 2016, you’ll be hard pressed to find on with an impact that will last as long.

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